How have we offended God? Why is Nic Cave a good theologian? How do we analyse our damnation? For if we are not damned, there is no need for a gospel.
If we could make it to the righteous and holy one: if we could achieve that level of righteousness, we would not need Christ to come: or for his death. Like Enoch, we would be with him.
Instead we know that we have offended him. Nic Cave says it all to well.
But Paul analyzed it for us. We did three things.
Firstly we denied that there is a creator, and began to worship his creation: the made, not the maker.
Then we denied the natural laws of morality.
And at that point God abandoned us to our lusts: our greed, our perversions, our hatred, and our society began to implode.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
(Romans 1:16-25 ESV)
A lot of people use these verses when arguing that homosexuality is bad. Well it is: but (unfortunately for the theologically and politically correct) I know the people who have the data. I was involved in a large, national, psychiatric survey, and yes, we asked about sexual activity. About five percent of women have sex with women, and three percent of men have sex with men: at least in NZ. And these people have a lot more bad things happen to them than their heterosexual brothers and sisters.
I am far more worried about the more common sins that I am tempted by and yield all too often to. However, the promotion of the gay lifestyle, and the institutionalisation of such is a sign of judgment. It means that God has abandoned this generation to its lusts, leaving us on the hedonic scrap-heap.
Moreover, the next stage of our devolution is a move towards a mass puritanism: this may be Islamic it may be some form of green penitence. We see this with the way we are encouraged to both avoid pork and count carbon credits.
But that will not save our society or our souls. Christ can, and in this generation he will have is remnant.
However, let is pray for revival. The need for the gospel has never been greater. My fear is that the church has become ashamed of it.
