Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Sexual Ethics”
Our Bible verse for today: “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” Isaiah 5:20 (HCSB)
Our thought for today: “They have reversed society’s understanding of good and bad, of right and wrong.”
In America the cultural norms for acceptable sexual ethics were pretty stable for most of our history. From the days of the pilgrims right up through the 1950’s, the Biblical standard for sexual behavior was overwhelming accepted and mostly unquestioned. The sexual revolution of the hippie years initiated the beginnings of a cultural shift, but it has only been in the last twenty-five years that the Biblical standard has been directly challenged on the national level.
Dr. Albert Mohler, the President of Southern Seminary, helps us to understand what has happened. He refers to the work of British philosopher Theo Hobson who developed a theory regarding how to initiate a moral revolution within a culture. Dr. Hobson taught that in order to bring about a moral revolution in a culture there are three basic steps or phases which must be deliberately passed through. First, the moral beliefs and behaviors which used to be condemned must now be celebrated. Second, the moral beliefs and behaviors that used to be celebrated must now be condemned. And third, those who refuse to celebrate the new moral standards and behaviors must also be condemned. This is exactly what has happened in our society with respect to sexual ethics.
Dr. Mohler explains that moral revolutions of the kind described by Theo Hobson have occurred at various times in different societies throughout history, but never at the speed with which it is occurring in our society today.
Also, this didn’t happen by accident. As we will see tomorrow, the architects of this seismic cultural shift were extremely thoughtful and intentional. Their approach was exactly what Theo Hobson’s theory described. Fortunately, their strategy was thoroughly documented and widely published. We should thank them for their openness and transparency because their strategies, which worked so well and which brought all of us to where we are today, actually provide an excellent roadmap for us, the Christian church, as we develop our own strategies for dealing with this going forward.
Again I want to encourage you to not lose heart. All is not lost, the last word on the issue has not been spoken, and the outcome is not a foregone conclusion. As time passes, societies go through cultural shifts. The changes come, they stay for a while, and then things change again. But when it’s all said and done Jesus is still on the Throne and it is His Kingdom that remains and which continues to grow. In the long run, God always wins.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 