Saturday, June 2, 2012

The Only Thing We Learn From History...


2 Peter 2:6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; 7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: 8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) 9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

Our city council passed an anti-discrimination ordinance a couple of weeks ago. It deals with the treatment of gays, lesbians and transsexuals. Those who oppose the ordinance do so, not out of ignorance or hatred, but a sense of responsibility and personal and corporate freedom.

For instance, if any church houses service programs such as AA, then they may not refuse to hire such persons for other than ministry positions. They could not be fired if they come out of the closet with a new identity. People who are confused about their gender identity would be free to use either the men’s or women’s bathrooms. Imagine, if a pervert (a perfectly good word describing one whose preferences and actions are abnormal) wants to go into the bathroom the same time your little girl or boy is in there, what can you do? Nothing! Or the law is broken, according to this ordinance.

Rental owners could not refuse a gay couple to lease a domicile. I am a rental owner. I am responsible to God for what happens under my roof. I should have the say so what kind of activities can and cannot take place in the place I own.

It puts me in mind of Lot, a just man, who chose the well-watered plains where Sodom and Gomorrah existed. Two angels, appearing in the form of men, came to his house to protect and deliver him and his family. The men of Sodom came to his door that night to demand the visitors be given up to them so they could commit homosexual acts upon them. The angels blinded the men so an escape of Lot and his family could be executed so that fire and brimstone could destroy the city and its evil inhabitants.

Apparently, tolerance of alternate lifestyles was in vogue way back then. Two of Lot's daughters and their husbands thought Lot was out of step with this progressive society. They were fine with "whatever people want to do in the privacy of their own bedrooms." Those four ended up being crispy critters when the judgment of God fell. Lot's wife longingly looked back upon the burning city and wound up being a permanent pillar of that society. His own virgin daughters, apparently also perverted by the declining culture, later got dad drunk and slept with him to perpetuate the family.

As the passage says, Lot was vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked.

Had there been just ten righteous people in the city, God would have stayed His hand of destruction upon Sodom. But look at the stats: Lot, plus Mrs. Lot, two daughters at home, two married daughters and their husbands, plus Lot's herdsmen... 10 should have been an easy number of righteous people to amass, but alas, the culture caused that only three would escape with their lives.

The increasing decay of our culture is stealing our prodigy's innocence. We are facing the same type of assault on our tenuous foundations. God's messengers, as the angels of old, are trying to warn us of impending doom, but their voices are falling on deaf ears. Instead, just men and women, boys and girls are willingly being vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked. Dwelling among this senseless and godless activity, our righteous souls are being vexed from day to day with their unlawful deeds. Unfortunately, I don't see the tide turning.

Thanks be to God, though, that He still knows how to deliver His own out of temptations.

No comments: